Effective communication and working as a team are key issues taught by Module 4 TeamSTEPPS Corner on how to succeed in healthcare facilities. Greg acted as the phlebotomist and exhibited good interpersonal skills at one point when he realized that the patient changed and promptly notified Amy, who happened to be the nurse. However, this timely communication eventually helped identify a very serious medical problem that was tackled immediately by Dr. Feldman. In the future, as a master’s prepared nurse, I intend to use “SBAR” to enhance communication and interprofessional teamwork. SBAR offers a systematic means of communicating essential, relevant information efficiently and transparently. This helps ensure every member understands the situation and can make rational judgments (Burkhart et al., 2019). Through SBAR, I can assist in good communication amongst healthcare professionals, resulting in better patient safety. Furthermore, I will underscore the essence of cross-functional support and good rapport between staff for an environment that supports safety and enhanced service provision.
Personal Experience
Having previously been a nurse in a very busy hospital, I recall one issue where this patient’s condition deteriorated, and I was worried. In the post-operative recovery unit, a patient underwent major surgery. In my routine assessment, I observed that the vital signs, such as blood pressure and pulse, trended abnormally upwards. Secondly, the patient exhibited extreme restlessness and increased agitation – something not normal considering his post-operative phase. I alerted the charge nurse and the attending physician to the sudden change in the patient’s condition shortly after the procedure. The charge nurse immediately called for a “huddle” of all healthcare team members, such as the physician, respiratory therapist, and anesthetist, to strategize handling the current scenario. The surgical team was called as it was suspected that the patient could be suffering from internal bleeding (Enders et al., 2021). The attending physician quickly returned the patient to the operating room for comprehensive examination and treatment. We handled the patient’s issues as a team efficiently and quickly, resulting in proper management of the patient’s condition. This demonstrated the necessity of open communication, cooperation, and speaking out promptly if one notices any abnormalities while providing health services so that the patient receives proper care as quickly as possible.
A Situation Where Outcomes Were Negative
In this case, I managed to have a positive outcome because of the timely reaction by the medical team. I immediately communicated with the charge nurse and attendings that the condition of the patients was worsening so that we could commence a quick intervention action together. The “huddle” facilitated a fast appraisal of the situation while bringing into play relevant experts with ideas on the patient’s state (Paige et al., 2022). Hence, we recognized that the possible complication was a hemorrhage in the abdominal cavity, leading us to return the patient to the theater for review and management. The pre-emptive handling of this patient’s case resulted in successful management of the disease and probably would have prevented more complications or perhaps saved it even would have turned into a life-threatening scenario. It emphasized the core role of effective communication and teamwork toward a positive outcome while caring for patients in any health setting. Although it resulted in success, this scenario sometimes occurs in health care and eventually causes severe effects (Paige et al., 2022). For example, if the communication had been delayed or if the team members had not considered those concerns seriously, then the patient’s health condition could have worsened, leading, consequently, to severe injuries or even death. Healthcare relies on effective teamwork and excellent communication to avoid unfavorable outcomes and ensure continuous monitoring and training to handle future lapses.
References
Burkhart, L., Horsley, T. L., Connor, J., Kouba, J., Michelfelder, A., & Vlasses, F. (2019). Engaging interprofessional students and providers for primary care redesign. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 15, 43-47. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2405452618300752
Enders, F. T., Golembiewski, E. H., Orellana, M., Silvano, C. J., Sloan, J., & Balls-Berry, J. (2021). The hidden curriculum in health care academia: An exploratory study for developing an action plan to include diverse trainees. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 5(1), e203. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-clinical-and-translational-science/article/hidden-curriculum-in-health-care-academia-an-exploratory-study-for-the-development-of-an-action-plan-for-the-inclusion-of-diverse-trainees/AA72CA82EA23FE9AF6A376EBE06AD775
Paige, J. T., Bonanno, L. S., Garbee, D. D., Yu, Q., Kiselov, V. J., Badeaux, J. A., … & Devlin, R. J. (2022). Team Training for Interprofessional Insight, Networking and Guidance (T2IPING) points: a study protocol. International Journal of Healthcare Simulation, 1(2), 26-36. https://www.ijohs.com/article/doi/10.54531/FQAX8042#
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